The campaigns of President Bush and Sen. John Kerry will blanket Ohio through Monday night, and each is relying on a little star power to excite voters in this crucial and closely contested state.

Rocker Bruce Springsteen will appear with Kerry and sing two songs at an evening rally on the Ohio State University campus in Columbus on Thursday.

He will join Kerry again in Cleveland on Monday night for the campaign's final rally before the election.

California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger will campaign in Columbus with Bush on Friday, the president's third straight day in the Buckeye State.

Polls show the race for Ohio's 20 electoral votes is in a dead heat.

Schwarzenegger's acting credits include the Terminator movies. He is a moderate Republican whose stances on abortion, gun control and stem cell research clash with the president's. The former Mr. Olympia has connections to Columbus through his hosting of the annual Arnold Classic bodybuilding competition.

"The governor's message resonates with the people of Ohio because he is the personification of the American dream," said Kevin Madden, spokesman for the Bush campaign. "He and the president share a commitment to the ideals that make America great: optimism, hard work, opportunity and peace through strength."

Springsteen can reach out to the blue-collar voting bloc in Ohio that is vital for the Kerry campaign, said Joe Lockhart, a senior Kerry aide.

Each campaign is hoping its star of choice will add a little fresh air to the end of a long presidential campaign season in which Ohio has been targeted.

Entering this week, Bush had visited Ohio 15 times in 2004. He'll be in Youngstown and Lima on Wednesday, Dayton and Cleveland on Thursday, and Columbus on Friday. He will be in Cincinnati on Sunday.

Kerry, who has visited Ohio 23 times this year, will be in Toledo and Columbus on Thursday, the Youngstown area on Saturday and Cleveland on Monday night.

Vice President Dick Cheney and Democratic vice-presidential nominee John Edwards also are expected to cross the state repeatedly over the next five days.

What's left to say?

Spokesmen for each campaign said the goal now is to keep the enthusiasm strong among supporters, encourage them to vote, and get their messages out to the final few undecided voters.

"People may be tired of seeing the candidates. They may be tired of seeing all the ads," Lockhart said. "But we're going to keep saying it until they shut the polls and tell us we can't say it anymore."

E-mail jsiegel@enquirer.com